The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [158]
To prepare and administer a hot Castor oil fomentation:
1. Cut several pieces of laundered white cotton flannel, cotton felt, or cheesecloth large enough to more than completely cover the area to be treated. (When fomenting the liver, it is best to use pieces of material large enough to extend from the navel, over the liver, and around to the spine, and from the right hip bone up to the breast/pecs.) I suggest you cut several pieces of material because it is best for this fomentation to be several layers thick.
2. Place the cotton material into a clean glass or stainless steel pan.
3. Pour 1 to 2 cups of Castor oil onto the pieces of material, soaking them through with the oil.
4. Place the pan of oiled cotton into an oven and heat it until the oiled material is very warm but still touchable. One can put a few drops of Lavender, Chamomile, Lemon, and/or Rose essential oil onto the pack at this point if this floral oil bouquet will be appreciated.
5. Wash the area of the body to be treated with a mixture of warm water and apple cider vinegar.
6. Take the fomentation from the pan and remove any excess oil so there is no dripping.
7. Place the hot fomentation over the area to be fomented. (If this is a liver pack, the person should be lying on his or her left side. Otherwise it will be a spleen pack, and that would be okay too.)
8. Cover the fomentation with a plastic wrap.
9. Over this lay a heating pad or a hot water bottle.
10. Wrap a large towel around all the above and tuck it comfortably under the body to hold everything in place.
11. Place a warm blanket over the individual and let him or her receive the fomentation for at least an hour up to several hours.
12. A gentle foot massage and head massage supplies a delicious touch to this healthful ritual.
13. When completed, remove the oil from the skin by using a gentle soap and then a wash of warm water and baking soda. (This mixture will soothe the area, especially if any minor skin irritation or rash has developed from the drawing action of the Castor oil.)
When all is finished, wrap the oiled material in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator. It can be reheated and reused several times, but only on the same person. Replace it with fresh material after six to eight applications.
Repeated fomentations over a period of time are often required to heal the above conditions. These can be given in a pattern of three days in a row, then four days off. Repeat this pattern for several weeks or until the ailing condition is history. Each time you receive the effects of this poultice you will feel like you’ve just taken a six-week vacation, one in which you never had to look for parking places or endure airport fiascoes.
Remember, the tricks for using poultices and fomentations successfully (although there are always some exceptions) are:
• Make poultices thick.
• Keep poultices and fomentations warm and moist.
• Allow them adequate time to do their work.
Incorporating time in any therapeutic formula is valuable; you asked for the help, so give yourself the space to receive it. Enjoy post-trauma time by relaxing and being patient. More than likely, stress and impatience had major roles in creating the wounds in the first place.
* RECIPE FOR A HOUSEHOLD BURN CENTER
Into a 2 oz. (60 ml) amber glass bottle, pour 1 fl. oz. (30 ml) of Aloe Vera juice. Add to this 30 ml of pure Lavender essential oil. Cap the bottle and keep it in the refrigerator where it will always remain cold and available. Shake well and pour this blend directly on any and all burns to immediately cool and soothe the skin tissue. Then when the skin is cold, apply the honey.
This chapter is the “grouting stuff” of the handbook, the informational mortar that should fill in any